Atlanta Flooding!

Paul and I just wanted to write a quick blurb to let you know we are a ok! We have been getting phone calls worried that we may be 5 foot deep in water! It has been a crazy last week and a half. It had pretty much rained non stop until yesterday and created a lot or flooding in and around Atlanta. And all that rain has made it rather difficult to do outdoor weddings :( It seems as though the suburbs of Atlanta got it the hardest. We were lucky in the fact that we had some water in our basement but was able to move everything to hire ground without ruining anything. Above is a picture of the exit I get off at to get to work every day taken on Monday. I did not go to work on Monday! Lots o rain! But, praise God, the sun is out today :)

House update!

We are now well into construction at our house and it is coming along slowly but surely! At this point all of the major stuff is finished! We now have a new electrical system, new HVAC system, new plumbing, new roof and a whole of lot of walls ripped out and a lot of new walls framed in! It is so exciting! Below are some pictures of before and where the construction is at at this point. The pictures defiantly make it look as though we have gotten little done but, now that all the "bones" of the house have been fixed, finishing work will start happening very soon and quickly! (that is after we actually pass of our city inspections, we are on inspection #3 for electrical) Next up is new drywall for most the house, a refinished bathroom, a new kitchen, refinished hardwood floors and a whole lot of painting! More pictures to come for sure!

Our old HVAC system. We have had a lot of trash hauled from the house.

We ripped out this load bearing wall in order to open the kitchen to the dining room and living room! We plan to put a little peninsula of cabinets between the kitchen and dining room!

The Dining Room at another angle.

Nothing in the kitchen stood a chance of sticking around. Well, except for the door! We thought it was cool :)

The kitchen demolished! We also had to replace all of the floor joyces (sp?) in the kitchen as they were uber rotted out.

The old apartment that was rented out in the back of the house

Now it is framed out as our Master Bedroom with a hallway, laundry closet and closet!

Our Trip to Chicago

So if I (Paul) don't done write blogs the Stroup Brother Legacy will be left to facebook updates. So here is a little picture update of a trip Chris and I took to Rockford to visit our Grandparents a couple of weekend ago and also did a quick run into Chicago to explore the city. It was a great trip because we got to see our grandparents and eat some extra buttery Chicago style pizza.

Picture of Grandpa Palm

Chris and I hitting up Chicago (at Grant Park)

Picture of myself looking at the "Magic" bean (its really called the Cloud Gate)

Chris infront of the bean

View of Chicago

The bean @ Millennium Park

The Jay Pritzker Pavilion

I never write about my business!

So I was just thinking to myself that I never write my business on our blog! I just finished a a big wedding of mine and wanted to share pics with you! The wedding went great and the images are georgeous! Here is a link to the photographer's blog:

http://staceybode.blogspot.com/2009/06/sarah-dan.html

Erin

The before pictures of our new house!

Here is our new house! It is so exciting its finally ours. (Actually, we won't own it for 30 years, but we are working on that Dave Ramsey!) Below are some before pics for Paul and I and for you all to see the progression of the house. Right now our contractor is on vaca, so unfortunately, not much will happen in the next week :( Enjoy thinking to yourself "what did they get in to?" Because that is what I am thinking right about now!

The Front of the house

The Front Door

One of the many tresures we found :)

The Front Porch

Front Porch

The Living Room

The Living Room

The Dining Room

Bedroom #1

Jack and Jill bathroom

Jack and Jill Bathroom

The Jack and Jill Bathroom (if only walls could talk! What is up with the murals everywhere?)

Bedroom #2

Bedroom #2

Kitchen #1

The Pantry

The Laundry Room

Kitchen #2 (this is will become a hallway, laundry room, closet and a master bedroom)

The Master Bath

The Master Bath

The back porch which we want to turn into a Sun Room/Greenhouse

The future Sun Room

The back of the house YIKES!

The Back Yard

The Side of the House which will become a dog run

All the trash we collected, including an awesome grocery cart. I may keep this :)

Our 5th Anniversary!

Paul and I were able to take a little trip to Charleston, SC for our 5th anniversary. It rained a lot, but we tried to get outside anytime the rain let up. Charleston has so much history and such cool houses! Paul and I got so many ideas for our new home. The hotel we stayed in gave us cruisers which were so much fun to just ride around the city. And talk about some amazing southern cooking! I got shrimp and grits at one little place that were to die for! It was a good thing we had those bikes to ride because all we did was eat while we were there! There are so many things Paul and I have grown to love in south including the amazing food, the amount of history, and the all that southern charm!